Florence Pugh Will Free the Nipple If She Wants To

She shut down the body-shamers reallll quick.

Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22/23 - Front Row
(Image credit: Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty)

A tale as old as time: Woman wears a see-through dress; men get upset.

Florence Pugh wore a breathtaking Barbie pink gown for the Valentino Haute Couture show in Milan, a halter-neck, froofy, tulle affair, which she paired with matching platforms, handbag, earrings and ring.

Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22/23 - Arrivals

(Image credit: Photo by Jacopo Raule / Getty)

The actress looked stunning and the dress happened to be see-through enough to show her nipples. I know, imagine the horror!

So yeah, predictably, commenters ran wild on Pugh's original Instagram post, hilariously captioned, "Technically they’re covered?"

Amid the sea of complimentary comments, people felt compelled to tell the star exactly how they felt about her breasts—that they were too small, too visible, too present, and that this made them uncomfortable.

Pugh knew it was coming, because she's a woman in the public eye and she knows how these things go. This, thankfully, didn't stop her from showing off what was for all intents and purposes a truly beautiful look.

Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22/23 - Front Row

(Image credit: Photo by Daniele Venturelli / Getty)

In a second post, she eloquently expressed exactly how she felt about people's unsolicited opinions on her body, and it's really worth a read if you have a few minutes:

"Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn’t be a commentary on it. Whether it be negative or positive, we all knew what we were doing.

"I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn’t before, during or even now after.

"What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. You even do it with your job titles and work emails in your bio..?

"It isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last time a woman will hear what’s wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be.

"Thankfully, I’ve come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me. I’m happy with all of the ‘flaws’ that I couldn’t bear to look at when I was 14.

"So many of you wanted to aggressively let me know how disappointed you were by my ‘tiny tits’, or how I should be embarrassed by being so ‘flat chested’.

"I’ve lived in my body for a long time. I’m fully aware of my breast size and am not scared of it.

"What’s more concerning is…. Why are you so scared of breasts? Small? Large? Left? Right? Only one? Maybe none?

"What. Is. So. Terrifying.

"It makes me wonder what happened to you to be so content on being so loudly upset by the size of my boobs and body..?

"I’m very grateful that I grew up in a household with very strong, powerful, curvy women. We were raised to find power in the creases of our body. To be loud about being comfortable. It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘fuck it and fuck that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive.

"I wore that dress because I know.

"If being loudly abusive towards women publicly in 2022 is so easy for you, then the answer is that it is you who doesn’t know.

"Grow up. Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans. Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise.

"And all because of two cute little nipples….

"Oh! The last slide is for those who feel more comfortable with that inch of darker skin to be covered…"

The proverbial mic has been dropped.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.